EEOC sues Amerisource Bergen alleging age discrimination

TREDYFFRIN — Pharmaceutical services giant AmerisourceBergen Corp. violated federal law when it refused to hire a qualified applicant for a telecom manager position based on his age, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission charged in a lawsuit it announced Monday.

The commission, known as the EEOC, said the Tredyffrin-based company advertised for a vacant manager-telecom position at its Chesterbook headquarters.

The position was responsible for managing a category of telecom products and the business relationship between Amerisource and respective suppliers.

Robert Aellis applied for the position and submitted his resume, which demonstrated that he had 40 years experience in the telecommunications industry in numerous roles including as a technical engineer, project manager and director level manager responsible for dealing with vendors and negotiating contracts.

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Aellis was qualified for the position, and in fact Amerisource rejected Aellis for the position because he was “overqualified for this need,” according to the EEOC, the agency that enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination.

Aellis assured Amerisource that he was genuinely interested in the position and argued that his significant skills and experience would be to the company’s benefit. Nevertheless, despite Aellis’ stellar qualifications, the company rejected him because of his age, 60, and ultimately hired someone 20 years younger for the position, the EEOC charges.

A company official said a large number of candidates responded to the advertisement.

Such alleged conduct violates the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 which prohibits age discrimination against individuals age 40 or older.

The EEOC attempted to reach a pre-litigation settlement before filing suit in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

“While there are limits to what we can say about pending litigation, we are disappointed that the EEOC has filed a complaint on behalf of an individual who was one of a large number of applicants for an open position within our company,” said Barbara Brunges, vice president of corporate and investor relations at AmerisourceBergern.

“AmerisourceBergen is committed to equal employment opportunity, and we actively cultivate a diverse and inclusive environment for our current and potential employees.”

In its lawsuit, the EEOC seeks the court stops the company from engaging in age discrimination in hiring, as well as lost wages and liquidated damages for Aellis.

“Older applicants often are not given the same opportunity to compete for jobs because of age-based myths and stereotypes some hiring managers have,” said District Director Spencer H. Lewis, Jr., of the EEOC’s Philadelphia District Office.

“Too often employers try to mask age discrimination by using euphemisms like ‘overqualified.’”

EEOC Regional Attorney Debra Lawrence added, “It is not only bad business to refuse to hire well-qualified workers simply because of their age, it is blatantly illegal. The EEOC will take strong action to combat age discrimination even if employers try to hide age discrimination by using code words like ‘overqualified’.”

According to its website, www.amerisourcebergen.com, the company has more than $80 billion in annual revenue and employs approximately 11,000 people.